The early morning light shines across my room, invading my sleep. I squint my eyes open and roll over recollecting my thoughts from last night; the dinner party, the parade, the home invasion...and the cold hard truth. Right under the noses of the upper society, murder was taking place and with the slap of a label, being called justice. Dread threatens to take over my body as I realize the fact that my father must know about these executions.
We're a founding family of the Renewed Society, which places us in the inner circle with the King, calling themselves the Truly Divine. As I contemplate how I'll bring up the subject with my father, movement on my bed alarms me.
"I'm sorry if I woke you, but you should know that we need to leave by tonight." I take in this image of Matthew sitting on the edge of my bed, as the morning sun bathes the room in its warmth. He looks none other than a prince, his green eyes and brown hair shimmering with flecks of gold.
"And I happen to be starving," he adds with a grim smile.
I leap out of bed fully accessing my situation. Matthew, a fugitive, is sitting merrily on my bed while my mother could walk in at any moment.
"Are you alright? You haven't said a word." As if on cue my mother knocks on the door and I push him to hide on the other side of my bed as I make my way to the door.
"Good morning mother!" I say too enthusiastically.
"Eliza for goodness sake it's already 11 and you haven't even showered?!" My mother never ceases to amaze me with her constant obsession over outward appearances.
"I'm sorry mother, I was very tired."
"Beauty is pain sweetheart, what if we had company? You don't even look presentable." Before she gives me a chance to reply she continues speaking.
"Anyways, I came in here to tell you that your father and I will be gone today because of the Saint Bethany's Gala in Silver City. Just ask the House Program to make dinner or something, we should be back by early morning tomorrow."
"Alright mother, have a safe trip. I love you," I lean in to kiss her cheek but she raises her hand in protest.
"Please Eliza, you smell like a Balmer citizen, take a shower," she huffs and closes the door. Of course she had to say that. I slowly turn around, hoping he hadn't heard her when he stands up again.
"You'd better get your bedding washed since I sat on it," he spits out cruelly.
"I'm sorry, that was my mother talking, not me," I say apologetically, but I can see that he's taking none of it.
"Yeah but you were raised by her, what makes you think you're any different?" He starts pacing the floor, clearly pissed by my mother's prejudice words.
"Please! I wasn't raised by her, some housemaid had to do the job!" I realize that that didn't help my case in sounding less spoiled, which only makes me aggravated now.
"I didn't turn your sorry ass in did I?! You think I'm like my mother, why don't you catch her before she leaves and introduce yourself then?! See how long your head sits on your shoulders..." I unfurl my fists, breathing loudly at my outburst. He stops pacing and looks at me incredulously for a moment before bursting into laughter.
I am completely taken aback for two reasons; one, he is laughing at what was supposed to be my angry side and two, this is the first time that I've seen him genuinely smile in the last 15 hours that I have known him.
"Why are you laughing at me?" I ask defensively.
"Your attempt at an outburst is absolutely hilarious! It's like watching a palace dog try and scare a lion!" He doubles over and continues laughing, all the while building my annoyance with him.
"That's an outrageous example and if you want to eat you better apologize!" I find myself laughing along with him as the morning brightens into the afternoon.
* * *
Soon the sun is setting, and our plan begins to set into motion. "So we have to be back by dawn?" Matthew asks while I pack a bag.
"Yes, before my parents are back from the Gala. But what will you do, stay in Balmer?"
"No, I can't let you make the trip back by yourself, it's too risky. I'll escort you back and probably stay low in Golden Grove until we can meet and discuss our plan."
"Well I understand the gist of it," I say as I zip up my bag, I've got to borrow a knife from my father's study...just in case.
"I'm going to meet your family and the other forerunners in this revolution. Once I understand your goals for equality, I'll start gathering people in Golden Grove. But after that, I'm not sure..." I know he wants to kill the King but I don't know if I can go that far. Who will rule if the King is dead? A citizen from Balmer? Arroya? Surely the people wouldn't go for that.
"I think that sounds like one hell of a start," Matthew says, breaking my troubled thoughts.
I open the front door to my peaceful neighborhood, all identical with green lawns and cream colored buildings. Many of my close neighbors will be off at the Gala as well, I picked a good time to go on an "adventure".
"I used to leave my city through the fields and I'm sure that that's less conspicuous than whatever way you broke in," I roll my eyes as we walk down the street.
"Less conspicuous? We're walking down the middle of your street," he scoffs.
"See all those empty dark rooms? No one is home, most of Golden Grove are in Silver City. You chose a good night to break in." As we walk through the fields in the back of the city, the silence grows eerie.
"Why aren't you like your parents?" Matthew quietly asks, his question carried across the grass by the wind.
"Because I know that you aren't any different than me. When I was younger I had a friend, Kate, who lived in Balmer; she was a better friend than any of these stuck up girls here ever were..." I trail off, nostalgia running through my bones.
"I could tell you were different. From the moment I landed into your room, even though utter fear was on your face and you ran from me...there was a second of wonder and yearn in your eyes, yearning for something more." He stops walking and I turn around to find his solemn expression fixed on me. Five seconds...five seconds was all it took for him to realize I was unhappy in that house, yet people I've been around my whole life couldn't realize I was screaming inside.
"Who are you Matthew Laner?" I ask as my blonde locks flow around my face.
We approach the city fence and I spot the hole I used to leave from without hesitation, although it is much smaller than I remembered it to be. "Well this way is a shortcut from the way I came, we should be back in time for supper."
"With your family?" All of the sudden nerves bubble in my stomach at having to meet them at their dinner table.
"Well yes, my mother and sister will be there and you need to be away from the public eye. You stick out like a sore thumb." He made a good point, I changed into my best non-fancy clothes but the best I found were a pair a navy blue slacks and a beige top that synched at the waist.
"Well if I'm going to be coming to your town more often and vice versa, we need to supply each other with an outfit that fits the town, or else we'll be stuck meeting hours into the night. And my mother knows when I have not had 'beauty' sleep." I throw my bag over the fence and struggle to fit through the hole.
"Does no one patrol the perimeter of your city?" Matthew asks once we are on the other side of the fence.
"Not really, people don't try and break into Golden Grove," I take a deep breath and finish my sentence, "because we shoot on site. No one's tried for decades." Shame washes over me as I start to see what my city is really like from outside the fence; from outside of my skin.
"You might want to correct your statement before you start giving tours of your city," Matthew smirks as we enter the forest, a few feet beyond the fence. I'm quietly confused for a minute before I catch on, rolling my eyes at his arrogance. It isn't long before we're at the border of Balmer, our conversation having kept us preoccupied from the lingering danger that awaits in his town.
"You're lucky my house isn't in towns square, it'll be easy to get you in without notice."
"Does anyone know I'm coming?"
He's silent for a moment before sighing, "Let's just say it's a surprise."
Anxiety courses through my veins as we stand on the hill over his town. The entire city consists of warehouses and broken down buildings, dimly lit by street lamps, and even in the dark I can see the billow of smoke from the factories, clouding the starlit sky.
(Author's Note: I'm really excited about this chapter, it's setting up for some real interesting stuff that's going to happen in Matthew's town. Please vote, follow, and stay tuned for more soon! P.S. I'm still working on making chapters longer)